Customer service and adopting more focus and more emphasis on a ‘Customer-First’ approach is an agenda that the FCA has been promoting for some time. This focus can be seen throughout various policies and even court actions in recent months.

It’s important for companies to be able to demonstrate how their business model is designed and operates to ensure that the needs of customers are met, by adopting and providing a ‘Customer First’ approach.

Companies will be forced to treat customers fairly. This is a major crackdown on bad service where there is no effort to adopt a ‘Customer First’ approach.

The FCA wants companies to put ‘Customers First’ and those who fail could face huge fines.

Companies will have to provide information that the customer both understands and is offered products and services that are fit-for-purpose and provide a level of customer service that is helpful, transparent and clear.

The regulator will be looking at plans through February 2022and will confirm any final new rules by the end of July 2022. Companies will have to comply with the new rules by April 2023.

Companies will need to have a robust ‘Customer First’ assessment plan in place on how they establish what their customers want and how best to provide that.

The FCA will look at the methodology that is being adopted when dealing with customers and how they offer the correct products and services and to be able to fully understand the company’s ability to meet the needs of the customer, especially customers that might be classed as more vulnerable.

It seems that the FCA’s priority for 2022 is that customers have clear information that helps them make effective decisions. The FCA said: “Firms’ information disclosures don’t always have as much impact on consumer decision-making as we would like.”

Companies need to be proactive in their approach to customer service and adopting a ‘Customer First’ approach. This approach is not just about FCA compliance, it’s about customer retention, increased revenue, and all the other positive benefits that come from providing customers with the best customer service through the focus of a ‘Customer First’ approach, and certainly providing a better service than your competitors.

In 2022 the FCA will place more emphasis on behavioural research and insights to support with improving customer outcomes. Companies are encouraged to place more emphasis on delivering better and fairer outcomes for customers.

The My View Research team has been developing, managing, and delivering customer service focused FCA compliance programs for over ten years. It’s important to develop a strategy to monitor compliance and create initiatives that can help build on the results of the measurements and feedback from a well planned and executed compliance measurement program.

My View Research specialises in ‘Customer First’ improvement and compliance initiatives, whether its Physical Mystery Shopping, Video Mystery Shopping, Telephone Mystery Shopping, Customer Surveys, Customer Focus Groups, or Social Media Customer Feedback Monitoring, you will find their expertise invaluable and their costs very attractive